The SOPA Blackout…

On January 18th, if you went to search something on Google you saw something interesting a black mark over where the word Google [logo] used to be.

This is the way Google decided to protest the legislation that’s being proposed…

The link on the bottom urges people to contact their congressman and to NOT censor the Internet. The link takes you to another page where they continue on to describe SOPA…

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

Viewing the PDF that Google provided shows very clearly that ‘the people’ don’t want SOPA and that this is obviously something that should be dropped completely. How the entertainment industry wants to go after piracy on the Internet is completely wrong. And what’s sad is that most of the people tasked with passing this law has no idea how the Internet works and what the technical points are; they haven’t even read it most likely.

Right now in Washington D.C., Congress is considering two bills that would censor the web and impose burdensome regulations on American businesses. They’re known as thePROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. Here’s what they’d do:

PIPA & SOPA will censor the web. These bills would grant new powers to law enforcement to filter the Internet and block access to tools to get around those filters. We know from experience that these powers are on the wish list of oppressive regimes throughout the world. SOPA and PIPA also eliminate due process. They provide incentives for American companies to shut down, block access to and stop servicing U.S. and foreign websites that copyright and trademark owners allege are illegal without any due process or ability of a wrongfully targeted website to seek restitution.

PIPA & SOPA will risk our industry’s track record of innovation and job creation. These bills would make it easier to sue law-abiding U.S. companies. Law-abiding payment processors and Internet advertising services can be subject to these private rights of action. SOPA and PIPA would also create harmful (and uncertain) technology mandates on U.S. Internet companies, as federal judges second-guess technological measures used by these companies to stop bad actors, and potentially impose inconsistent injunctions on them.

PIPA & SOPA will not stop piracy. These bills wouldn’t get rid of pirate sites. Pirate sites would just change their addresses in order to continue their criminal activities. There are better ways to address piracy than to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet. The foreign rogue sites are in it for the money, and we believe the best way to shut them down is to cut off their sources of funding. As a result, Google supports alternative approaches like the OPEN Act.

And Google wasn’t the only one… Wikipedia went dark as well. I was very surprised to see an article on Mashable that says the author [Rep. Lamar Smith] of SOPA is upset with Wikipedia; literally attacking the foundation of what Wikipedia is…

“It is ironic that a website dedicated to providing information is spreading misinformation about the Stop Online Piracy Act,” reads the statement. “The bill will not harm Wikipedia, domestic blogs or social networking sites. This publicity stunt does a disservice to its users by promoting fear instead of facts. Perhaps during the blackout, Internet users can look elsewhere for an accurate definition of online piracy.”

I would love to see that debate. I would love to see the top tech people in the United States, or around the world, come and debate this. He’d be made to be a fool.

The blackout was a way to get more people’s attention; and as far as the blackout goes, I believe it was a success.

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